Woman arrested for flying while Arab

[Robert Maxwell]

I just read the AP account of this. It's disturbing how many of the commenters after the story are applauding the actions of the police. Here are a few:

Good! Glad to see we are hard at work trying to stop terrorists.

Good job by the police and everyone involved. This needs to be done daily. The Arabic/Muslim people should not blame TSA/Police or America for this. They need to blame those Arabic/Muslim terrorists for putting them in this situation with such cowardly acts.

I'm not mad at what they did to her. They were simply keeping people out of harms way. and if something looks suspicious or out of the ordinary then please go for it. Its another person looking for attention and money just because they can use the 'race card'.

My hats off to the TSA and the cops. Screw this muslim b**&^&h~~!

Everyone who makes comments like that should have to go through everything Ms. Hebshi did.

 

[SmoothieX]

Good job by the police and everyone involved. This needs to be done daily. The Arabic/Muslim people should not blame TSA/Police or America for this. They need to blame those Arabic/Muslim terrorists for putting them in this situation with such cowardly acts.

This one I agree with, the rest of them not so much.

 

[JoeZhang]

Good job by the police and everyone involved. This needs to be done daily. The Arabic/Muslim people should not blame TSA/Police or America for this. They need to blame those Arabic/Muslim terrorists for putting them in this situation with such cowardly acts.

This one I agree with, the rest of them not so much.

What are the two Indian gentlemen who aren't Arabs and don't appear to muslims suppose to do?

Maybe they should bleach their skin?

 

[Pingfah]

Good job by the police and everyone involved. This needs to be done daily. The Arabic/Muslim people should not blame TSA/Police or America for this. They need to blame those Arabic/Muslim terrorists for putting them in this situation with such cowardly acts.

This one I agree with, the rest of them not so much.

The "situation" being complained about is the extreme disrespect this American citizen was treated with, how is that the fault of Muslim terrorists rather than the TSA? How is it a "good job" to deny someone even the chance to urinate?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

One, immediately after September 11, the Justice Department detained many suspected terrorists as "material witnesses" even though there were no attempts to call them as a witness. There are still ongoing lawsuits related to this.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government in the lead suit (Al-Kidd) and dismissed the claim.

Dismissed the claim against John Ashcroft. Lawsuits against those who actually detained him are still going on (I believe under Due Process grounds for allegedly torturing him as well).

This incident and others like it should not have occurred, for many reasons. But there are so many misconceptions regarding what is and is not allowed under the 4th Amendment and why, and what the USA PATRIOT Act does and does not do, that it keeps us as a people from striking a balance between due process and security. The Supreme Court has had ample opportunities to strike it down as unconstitutional, but has not done so yet. Maybe they had reasonable suspicion (the standard applicable to non-routine searches), maybe they didn't. But that is a different question from whether you agree with the response or the Act (if that even applies here).

Oh, I think there's a paranoia that's reflected in the act. I think there are problems with the act itself. I just don't think even the USA PATRIOT act went as far as to authorize what happened in this case.

 

[Sean Aaron]

Good job by the police and everyone involved. This needs to be done daily. The Arabic/Muslim people should not blame TSA/Police or America for this. They need to blame those Arabic/Muslim terrorists for putting them in this situation with such cowardly acts.

This one I agree with, the rest of them not so much.

The "situation" being complained about is the extreme disrespect this American citizen was treated with, how is that the fault of Muslim terrorists rather than the TSA? How is it a "good job" to deny someone even the chance to urinate?

Not to mention which, no, having armed police needlessly escort innocent people off of planes in handcuffs does not need to be "done daily" - I can't even understand the mindset behind making a comment like that in the first place. And no, Americans do not get to blame others for their repressive actions. "Bin Laden made me do it" wasn't good enough for the schoolyard and it sure as hell isn't good enough in global political theatre.

 

[Agent Richard07]

As for the person who noticed this "suspicious activity" and took action, I wonder how they feel about having caused all this.

 

[SmoothieX]

Better safe than sorry in these circumstances. I would attempt to apologize to everyone inconvenienced by the act, but I'm sure whoever reported it was doing what he thought was best. They play messages over and over again at the airport that if you see anything suspicious looking to report it right away.

 

[TheSeeker]

So I guess suspicious behaviour is being brown and going to the bathroom then. Better make sure my tan doesn't get too deep on vacation.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

the US is on the verge of an Arab-American internment

What, no love for Guantanamo?

You just repeatedly throw out non sequiturs hoping something sticks, don't you? Did the Arab-Americans part escape you? You know, the part that would actually make it similar to the widespread internment of Japanese-Americans in WWII, which is what you were saying is likely to happen to Arab-Americans in the near future?

I'm sure you'll somehow twist this around to being support for our actions in Guantanamo Bay, which I find disgusting, but it's not; it's a simple reporting of facts:

There have been three American citizens captured in Afghanistan and held in the "War on Terror." Only one (Yassir Hamdi) was housed at Guantanamo Bay, and he was released and sent back to his current home of Saudi Arabia once they realized he was born in the US and he renounced his US citizenship. The other two ("American Taliban" John Walker Lindh and Jose Padilla, neither of whom are of Arab descent) were held in the continental US and not Guantanamo. Lindh received a trial and was convicted, and Padilla was held without charge in North Carolina.

So sorry, terrible as I think what goes on at Guantanamo is, it's not even remotely comparable to the situation faced by interned Japanese-Americans in WWII. Your hysterics here are just as ridiculous as the people who see terrorists everywhere.

 

[Sean Aaron]

I'm sure whoever reported it was doing what he thought was best.

I find it easier to believe they were racist assholes taking advantage of the laws and mood prevailing in the States to cause problems for people they didn't like the look of.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Better safe than sorry in these circumstances. I would attempt to apologize to everyone inconvenienced by the act, but I'm sure whoever reported it was doing what he thought was best. They play messages over and over again at the airport that if you see anything suspicious looking to report it right away.

It's easy to say that when it's someone else being strip-searched, isn't it?

 

[JarodRussell]

Better safe than sorry in these circumstances. I would attempt to apologize to everyone inconvenienced by the act, but I'm sure whoever reported it was doing what he thought was best. They play messages over and over again at the airport that if you see anything suspicious looking to report it right away.

It's easy to say that when it's someone else being strip-searched, isn't it?

To be fair, had this ended in an actual hijacking, you'd surely say "Why didn't they...?!".

the US is on the verge of an Arab-American internment

What, no love for Guantanamo?

You just repeatedly throw out non sequiturs hoping something sticks, don't you? Did the Arab-Americans part escape you? You know, the part that would actually make it similar to the widespread internment of Japanese-Americans in WWII, which is what you were saying is likely to happen to Arab-Americans in the near future?

I'm sure you'll somehow twist this around to being support for our actions in Guantanamo Bay, which I find disgusting, but it's not; it's a simple reporting of facts:

There have been three American citizens captured in Afghanistan and held in the "War on Terror." Only one (Yassir Hamdi) was housed at Guantanamo Bay, and he was released and sent back to his current home of Saudi Arabia once they realized he was born in the US and he renounced his US citizenship. The other two ("American Taliban" John Walker Lindh and Jose Padilla, neither of whom are of Arab descent) were held in the continental US and not Guantanamo. Lindh received a trial and was convicted, and Padilla was held without charge in North Carolina.

So sorry, terrible as I think what goes on at Guantanamo is, it's not even remotely comparable to the situation faced by interned Japanese-Americans in WWII. Your hysterics here are just as ridiculous as the people who see terrorists everywhere.

My point wasn't so much about the "-American" part but about the internment. It happened, didn't it? And it's still there. And my other point is that the step from Guantanamo Bay to the actual internment of citizens isn't as huge as you think it is. Continue calling it hysterics as long as you like.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Better safe than sorry in these circumstances. I would attempt to apologize to everyone inconvenienced by the act, but I'm sure whoever reported it was doing what he thought was best. They play messages over and over again at the airport that if you see anything suspicious looking to report it right away.

It's easy to say that when it's someone else being strip-searched, isn't it?

To be fair, had this ended in an actual hijacking, you'd surely say "Why didn't they...?!".

So that necessitates holding someone for several hours without any charges, strip-searching and interrogating them? Let's not pretend there was no other way for authorities to act on the reports of "suspicious behavior."

 

[JarodRussell]

It's easy to say that when it's someone else being strip-searched, isn't it?

To be fair, had this ended in an actual hijacking, you'd surely say "Why didn't they...?!".

So that necessitates holding someone for several hours without any charges, strip-searching and interrogating them? Let's not pretend there was no other way for authorities to act on the reports of "suspicious behavior."

I didn't say that I agree with the methods, but I do understand them. Most of the terrorists on 9/11 actually showed up on lists during check-in. But after what airport security thought was an intensive search back then, they still managed to hijack airplanes. Had they done the same with them, 9/11 wouldn't have happened.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was the airport officials who decided to do this, wasn't it? Meaning, the FBI or TSA did not order these people to be detained, they were called in later after the airport officials called in the riot squad. This is the impression I got from the comments on the woman's blog, anyway. Am I misreading the situation?

Whoever gave the order, this whole thing is a massive miscarriage of justice of course, just thought that blame should be reflected accordingly.

 

[SmoothieX]

Better safe than sorry in these circumstances. I would attempt to apologize to everyone inconvenienced by the act, but I'm sure whoever reported it was doing what he thought was best. They play messages over and over again at the airport that if you see anything suspicious looking to report it right away.

It's easy to say that when it's someone else being strip-searched, isn't it?

To be fair, had this ended in an actual hijacking, you'd surely say "Why didn't they...?!".

Thank you for realizing we don't live in a perfect world full of sunshine and unicorns. I've been stopped and patted down a couple times. Also have had my carry on swabbed for explosives a couple times. I don't like it, but if they catch a bad guy along the way, then good for them. I'll gladly submit to a random check if it means I end up at my destination in one piece. This thread has gone irretrievably pinko.

 

[TheSeeker]

So you'll happily submit to a body cavity search too?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It's easy to say that when it's someone else being strip-searched, isn't it?

To be fair, had this ended in an actual hijacking, you'd surely say "Why didn't they...?!".

Thank you for realizing we don't live in a perfect world full of sunshine and unicorns. I've been stopped and patted down a couple times. Also have had my carry on swabbed for explosives a couple times. I don't like it, but if they catch a bad guy along the way, then good for them. I'll gladly submit to a random check if it means I end up at my destination in one piece. This thread has gone irretrievably pinko.

I got a patdown in Brussels and didn't complain about it. Then again, I was drunk.

I don't know about you, but detaining people for several hours and treating them in this way is not what I would call an appropriate response to reports that they spent a lot of time in the bathroom. Were these people not sent through security on their way to the plane? Nothing apparently happened when they were in the air, either. Nothing was acted on until the plane had landed and then these people were removed from the plane, and still treated as though they might be lethal threats. Wow. Every hijacker I know sure waits until the plane has landed to actually go through with the 'jacking!

The way they responded to this makes no sense whatsoever. Isn't all the pre-flight security meant to catch suspicious items? What good does it do to arrest and interrogate someone after the flight is over, when nothing actually happened in flight?

Am I the only person who thinks it's crazy to try to justify this horseshit?

 

[RoJoHen]

That is exactly my problem with it. The plane was already on the ground! Unless it was their plan to blow up the Detroit airport after they arrived, I don't see how any of this was justified.